In season 13 of the TV series RuPaul's Drag Race, a performer called Gottmik became the first trans man to compete on the show, and along the way paid homage to the Hellraiser franchise with a Pinhead-inspired runway look. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gottmik revealed that the Pinhead performance actually led to an official audition to play the character in the upcoming Hellraiser reboot!
Gottmik said,
When they saw my Hellraiser [look], they gave me the audition for Pinhead. I did [go on tape]! But I wasn't menacing enough! I had to read a bunch, I was in my apartment, against the wall, full-on trying to be Pinhead, pretending to pull needles out of my head, just going in! It was so funny! I wanted to be Pinhead more than anything in my soul, but, also, I'm like, I get that!"
A couple images of Gottmik's appearance as Pinhead can be seen below, along with a clip from the Entertainment Weekly interview.
Odessa A'zion was recently cast to play a character named Riley in the Hellraiser reboot, which is set to be directed by David Bruckner from a screenplay written by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski. Producer David S. Goyer crafted the story for this Hellraiser, which is said to be "loyal, but evolved" take on the concept. The original Hellraiser was about
a puzzle box that opens a gateway to a horrific world and Cenobites, mutilated beings dedicated to torture and led by one nicknamed Pinhead. The movie quickly achieved cult status, spawning a franchise that would encompass ten movies, comics, and merchandise, with Pinhead and his visage at the center of it.
The film is set up at Spyglass Media and will be released through the Hulu streaming service. A release date has not yet been announced.
Bruckner's film isn't the only Hellraiser project currently in the works, but it is the one that appears to be closer to production. The other is an HBO Max series that's headed up by David Gordon Green, Mark Verheiden, Michael Dougherty, and Hellraiser creator Clive Barker.